A Minor Disappointment
by Opatoes
Summary: He wanted to believe Prime was destined for great things, but at every turn, it seemed as though everyone was trying to prove him wrong. Some small Primeverse Shattered Glass drabbles, Smokescreen-centric.
1. Chapter 1

Elite guard training was rough, just as he predicted. At times, he had to wonder why he stayed in the first place. It was needlessly tiring, filled with obnoxious mechs, and stressful. But he had heard so many impressive stories of the Prime, who was said to have stolen the Matrix with little difficulty, that he could fight the entire Decepticon army without weapons and still win. He had heard of some of his most successful battles, all spent fighting for a new, more impressive era. The idea of conquering everything he could see was appealing, as well. To meet such a mech would be the highest of honors.

His idolizing of Optimus certainly caught the attention of his peers, who weren't nearly as enamored with the Autobot leader as Smokescreen was. They joined for the cause, not the leader. They did not hesitate to demonstrate this to the young Smokescreen, who ended up bothering them further with his non-reaction to their punches, just dodging them with a mildly irritated look on his face, as though he didn't even care. He always heard a lack of reaction would deter these fools.

It didn't.

They did change their strategy, however. Fists were traded for words, which brought little change, at least at the surface. Smokescreen put an effort into hiding his discomfort. He worked to assure himself that no, he was not a soft weakling. He was worth more than scrap. He may not be destiny's child, but he wasn't an idiotic piece of trash, either.

It soon became evident that these guys would only stop if someone dropped out of the elite guard, and it wasn't about to be Smokescreen. It couldn't be. He had to meet with Optimus, and he just had to be his strategic adviser. He did not see the Prime as he did when he first joined, with those wide optics and nothing but admiration for the Prime. No, he had read about the failures of the Prime. He was impulsive, bad at planning. But the two of them together could form an unbeatable alliance! With his genius skills in strategy, and the Prime's power, they would conquer everything! That's what he told himself throughout training, at least. These were the ideas that kept him from dropping out, and motivated him as he prepared to initiate his plan.

It wasn't hard getting those afts out of the way. Fabricating some data pads in which they sound like Decepticon sympathizers, alert the sergeants, it was all very simple. It was clear those jerks were aware of what he had done, and went around to harassing the mech one last time, just as Smokescreen got the honor of dealing with the traitors he called out.

Those last moments with these dregs of society were most interesting, to say the least. The combination of begging for mercy, while calling Smokescreen a worthless coward would never be forgotten. Smokescreen took his time, but got little pleasure from dealing with them. He had spent most of that time wondering if they were right all along, that he may very well be as worthless as they say he was. Perhaps he was just a hindrance to the Autobot cause as they claimed.

He never once asked why they targeted him, but he felt he knew the reason. He was pathetic, an easy target. He wouldn't be significant to the Autobot cause, and was cannon fodder. He didn't matter, so that had to be why they messed with him. He knew this couldn't be true, but the thoughts didn't leave his mind.

Taking his sweet time was interpreted by his superiors as being a choice in giving these Decepticon sympathizers the cruelest end he could give as a rookie, and helped him quickly go through the ranks, until he found himself working as Optimus Prime's strategic adviser.

It was everything he ever wanted, yet something was off. Did Prime only seem fantastic in all of the propaganda? Or did the comments from his peers affect him more than he gave them credit for? Either way, he wasn't as pleased with his position as he wanted to be. He wanted to respect the Prime, but that just seemed to get more difficult with each passing day, as he saw the less appealing sides to Prime. He had to wonder why he stayed in the first place.

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**A/N: This is mostly something I wrote to get an idea of how I'd better play shattered glass Smokescreen, try to figure out why he acts like a surly mess. It's somewhat awkwardly written and ended up a lot longer than intended, complete with extra chapters in the works. They might be finished if I can figure out how to write SG Optimus.**


	2. Chapter 2

More orders from Optimus, demanding more battle plans for an attack he obviously had just decided on impulse and scheduled for tomorrow. It was like he didn't understand the strange and unique concept of "prep time." Smokescreen could hardly believe it. Didn't Prime, at the very least, understand the need for preparations? Regardless of the pathetic state of the decepticons, it didn't excuse a last minute attack plan that is utterly pointless. He wished to plan an attack on the decepticons, waste resources, and for what? Energon? They have control of quite a few energon mines already. A lot more than the decepticons, he was sure of that.

Smokescreen spent a moment staring into space, trying to figure out Prime's motives for this seemingly random attack. It seemed most reasonable to be used as a method of draining the decepticon's already limited resources, having them wasted on a battle that would be fruitless for them no matter what the outcome was. Since the autobots had more resources, they could just force the decepticons to use up their resources.

That seemed like the most reasonable motive, but upon further consideration, Smokescreen realized that couldn't have been Prime's motive at all, even if it made the most sense.

It had been a while since they last led an attack, and Optimus does enjoy fighting for the sake of fighting. He had been particularly aggressive in the past week, and he remarked not too long ago about how sparring had done nothing for him. They weren't going to attack the decepticons for the sake of tilting the outcome of the war! Prime just wanted to satisfy his bloodlust!

Smokescreen couldn't keep himself from punching an already-dented wall near him in frustration. He could hardly believe it. Did he really respect this mech at one point? Why did he ever wish to be his tactical adviser Prime failed to ignore his impulses, and it affected the autobot's state in the war. Their recent attacks have all ended with minimal gain, and that _had_ to be the reason. The others weren't performing at their full capacity, no doubt due to the lack of a medic that wasn't completely nuts.

Sometimes, Smokescreen couldn't help but feel he was the only sane mecha here. Optimus was simply disappointing, Ratchet was a horrifying medic, his experimental "upgrades" known to every recruit, and Arcee was Arcee. Still, in his eyes, the others at least had some sort of value. Optimus may be a fool, but he was stuck as their leader. Ratchet motivated the recruits to avoid getting hurt by decepticon, and Arcee was insane enough to be an effective member. He listed other mechs in his mind, and could think of a use for each of them.

But of himself? The autobots could very well perform without him, as it seemed his plans were completely rejected half the time. His own performance in battle was hindered by his lack of motivation and time in recharge. What good was he to the army? He may as well be cannon fodder, his own demise remembered by no one. He wasn't even sure what Optimus saw in him.

At times like this, trying to drown his frustration in stolen high grade seemed like his best option. He already knew what to tell Prime when it came to is job as a tactical advisor, he spent all the effort he was willing to spend on this pointless battle.

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**A/N: This chapter was originally a lot sillier. I have no idea what happened. I was hoping this would be the last chapter, but some other ideas expanded, and now I've got another chapter to finish.**


End file.
